Trump claims Ukraine’s Zelensky wants Harris ‘very desperately’ to win 2024 election

Former President Donald Trump claimed at a rally in Pennsylvania on Monday that Volodymyr Zelensky “hopes very much” that Vice President Kamala Harris will win in November, a key battleground state in the race for the White House.

The Republican presidential candidate again argued that if Trump were still in office, Russian President Vladimir Putin would never have invaded his neighbor, adding that the two countries could have reached a deal long ago, sparing Ukraine the suffering it is experiencing.

President Trump said of Ukraine, “They could have made a deal three years ago, and everything would have been happy and vibrant, and their legacy would not have been tarnished.”

Trump called Zelensky, who was in the United States for the UN General Assembly, “the greatest salesman in history.”

“Every time he comes into the United States, he leaves with $60 billion,” Trump added, seemingly referring to the foreign aid package passed by Congress earlier this year, which includes $61 billion for Ukraine.

Trump insisted Zelensky was rooting for Harris to win in November and laid out his vision for Kiev if he were to return to the White House.

“He wants them to win this election badly,” Trump said. “But I’m going to do it differently. I’m going to make peace.”

“If I win this election, the first thing I’ll do is call Zelensky and President Putin and say, ‘We have to make a deal. This is crazy,'” he added.

Zelensky visited an ammunition factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Sunday to thank workers who produce weapons critical to the fight against Russia. He was joined by Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), a key Harris ally. The visit angered some Trump aides, Reuters reported, because it was in a state less than two months before the election.

The Ukrainian leader, who is scheduled to meet with Harris on Thursday, has been trying to secure support for his country’s fight against Russia in the United States. Trump previously said he would “probably” meet with Zelensky this week.

In an ABC News presidential debate earlier this month, President Trump did not directly address whether it was in the national interest for Ukraine to win the war, which renewed concerns about what his victory would mean for the country.

“I think it’s in America’s best interest to end this war and see it through,” he said.

In an interview with The New Yorker published Sunday, the Ukrainian leader explained that ending the three-year conflict is much more complicated than Trump thinks.

“I think Trump doesn’t really know how to prevent war. Think “He knows how,” he said. “This war is often the more you look into it, the less you understand. I’ve seen leaders who are convinced they know how to end a war tomorrow, but as you go deeper, you realize it’s not that simple.”

Meanwhile, he has also criticized the Republican vice presidential nominee, Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), calling him “too aggressive” in pushing for a deal that would allow Russia to keep territory it seized from Ukraine.

“Any president or vice president who raises that view — that the end of the war depends on maintaining the status quo and that Ukraine is simply giving up its land — is potentially liable for starting a world war,” he said. “Because that would imply that this kind of behavior is acceptable.”